Challenges Of Living With Parkinson’s Disease

What Are The Challenges Of People Who Are Suffered From Parkinsons

Parkinsons disease is a disorder of the nervous system that affects many people worldwide, most of them over the age of 50. It is classified as a progressive degenerative disease, meaning that its symptoms worsen over time. Although the onset of symptoms is usually slow and subtle, for some individuals symptoms may appear suddenly and rapidly worsen.

One of the most typical symptoms of Parkinsons is shaking, or tremor, of the hands, face, and limbs the vast majority of people with the disorder will suffer from tremors to some degree. Although they may be barely perceptible at first, these tremors often increase in severity over time. Shaking that was once very mild can eventually worsen to the point that it interferes with everyday activities. Imagine trying to dial a phone number, lift a fork to your mouth, or button a shirt when your hands arms are shaking uncontrollablyfor people with Parkinsons, even the simplest tasks can become a major challenge.

Edison Home Health Care is happy to assist you or a loved one interested in home care services for Parkinsons related care. Give us a call at 888-311-1142, or fill out a contact form and we will respond shortly.

Professional Help For Couples Living With Parkinsons Disease

Remember, asking for help is a sign of strength. Suggestions include:

• Seek assistance from a counsellor who is trained in sexual health.
• See your doctor for information, advice and referral on any type of sexual difficulty. If you feel embarrassed, you might print out this fact sheet and highlight relevant sections for your doctor to read.
• If you find it difficult to talk and communicate with your partner, counselling may help. Your doctor can refer you to an appropriate service.
• Sexual dysfunction can be medically treated. For example, certain prescription drugs can stimulate an erection, while oestrogen medications or water-soluble lubricants can ease vaginal dryness.
• Regular exercise reduces fatigue by increasing fitness and stamina. If you are not exercising already, see your doctor for guidelines on appropriate activities.
• Some studies have found that depression affects sexuality more than the condition itself in people with Parkinsons disease. Talk to your doctor about treatment options for depression if you feel you are experiencing this.

Icipate In Clinical Trials

Clinical trials also contribute to the further treatment and understanding of Parkinsons disease and potentially provide access to the newest therapies. For more information and to learn if a clinical trial may be right for you, consult with your healthcare team.

The following websites provide information about ongoing clinical trials and how you or someone you know can enroll:

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Old People Problems Uncertainty And Legitimacy: Challenges With Diagnosing Parkinson’s Disease In Kenya

Diagnostic uncertainty, misdiagnosis and undiagnosis were common in Kenya.

Parkinson’s symptoms can be dismissed as a normal part of ageing.

Communication around a Parkinson’s diagnosis is lacking in Kenya.

Parkinson’s awareness needs to improve among populations and health professionals.

Access to affordable treatment should accompany improved diagnostic processes.

Whats It Like Living With Parkinsons Disease

Whether you’ve just been diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease or you know someone who has, you may wonder what it’s like living with Parkinson’s disease. Life with Parkinson’s disease can be hard to imagine unless you have experienced it. In addition to motor symptoms like tremors, rigidity and slow movement, people with PD may also experience sleep disorders, mood changes, and relationship issues. Here are some of the main challenges of the condition, as well as tips to boost your quality of life or help someone living with Parkinson’s disease.

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What Is Parkinsons Disease

Parkinsons disease is a nervous system disease that affects your ability to control movement. The disease usually starts out slowly and worsens over time. If you have Parkinsons disease, you may shake, have muscle stiffness, and have trouble walking and maintaining your balance and coordination. As the disease worsens, you may have trouble talking, sleeping, have mental and memory problems, experience behavioral changes and have other symptoms.

What Medications Are Used To Treat Parkinsons Disease

Medications are the main treatment method for patients with Parkinsons disease. Your doctor will work closely with you to develop a treatment plan best suited for you based on the severity of your disease at the time of diagnosis, side effects of the drug class and success or failure of symptom control of the medications you try.

Medications combat Parkinsons disease by:

• Helping nerve cells in the brain make dopamine.
• Mimicking the effects of dopamine in the brain.
• Blocking an enzyme that breaks down dopamine in the brain.
• Reducing some specific symptoms of Parkinsons disease.

Levodopa: Levodopa is a main treatment for the slowness of movement, tremor, and stiffness symptoms of Parkinsons disease. Nerve cells use levodopa to make dopamine, which replenishes the low amount found in the brain of persons with Parkinsons disease. Levodopa is usually taken with carbidopa to allow more levodopa to reach the brain and to prevent or reduce the nausea and vomiting, low blood pressure and other side effects of levodopa. Sinemet® is available in an immediate release formula and a long-acting, controlled release formula. Rytary® is a newer version of levodopa/carbidopa that is a longer-acting capsule. The newest addition is Inbrija®, which is inhaled levodopa. It is used by people already taking regular carbidopa/levodopa for when they have off episodes .

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Treatment For Parkinsons Disease Can Affect Sexuality

Parkinsons is incurable, but most of the symptoms are manageable with medication or surgery. However, medication can diminish sexual desire and reduce sexual response. Medication which improves motor or physical functions is mainly taken during the waking hours, lower levels at night may also affect sexual function. Some medications may cause an increase in desire , which is a rare side effect. Talk to your doctor about treatment side effects.

Parkinsons Disease: Impact On Family And Work And Geoffs Advice For Others

Any new diagnosis can have an impact on family and work life. After experiencing symptoms that developed over 4 years, Geoff finally received a diagnosis of young onset Parkinsons disease. He shares with us his experience, the impact on his family and work life. Geoff provides his advice and top tips for others in a similar situation and advice for carers.

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Parkinsons Disease Sexual Issues For Couples

The demands and challenges of Parkinsons may derail a couples sexual dynamics. Issues may include:

• The person with Parkinsons has reduced mobility, which may force them to take a more passive role in lovemaking.
• Symptoms of Parkinsons tend to worsen at night, which may prompt the couple to sleep in separate bedrooms. This arrangement reduces opportunities for spontaneous sex.
• The couple may have firmly established roles. Parkinsons can dramatically change each persons role and this sudden unfamiliarity may stall aspects of the relationship, including sex.
• The way each person handles the diagnosis and daily demands of Parkinsons may cause friction. Communication problems can spill over into the bedroom.
• Parkinsons can disrupt a couples lovemaking routine in many ways. Further problems will arise if the couple are unable or unwilling to make changes to their sexual attitudes and habits.

What Are The Symptoms Of Parkinsons Disease

Symptoms of Parkinsons disease and the rate of decline vary widely from person to person. The most common symptoms include:

Other symptoms include:

• Speech/vocal changes: Speech may be quick, become slurred or be soft in tone. You may hesitate before speaking. The pitch of your voice may become unchanged .
• Handwriting changes: You handwriting may become smaller and more difficult to read.
• Depression and anxiety.
• Sleeping disturbances including disrupted sleep, acting out your dreams, and restless leg syndrome.
• Pain, lack of interest , fatigue, change in weight, vision changes.
• Low blood pressure.

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Challenges And Positive Steps For The Future

Parkinsons disease is the second most common neurological condition in Australia but remains one of the least understood in terms of its cause.

• Related topics

Parkinsons disease is the second most common neurological condition in Australia but remains one of the least understood in terms of its cause. There is a lack of awareness in the health and general community of the challenges and needs of those suffering from this complex and disabling condition, as well as community stigma and constraints in the delivery of health and social support services. As a result, Australia needs to develop a greater, more positive public awareness and understanding of PD among the general community.

This report, an update of the 2007 report commissioned by Parkinson’s Australia, finds that Parkinson’s Disease cost the Australian economy approximately $775 million in 2011-12, including approximately $480 million in health system costs and $110 million in lost productivity.

Autonomic Symptoms In African Patients With Pd

Autonomic dysfunction is well recognised in PD, particularly as the disease progresses. Okubadejo et al. studied the frequency of autonomic dysfunction in 33 patients with PD in Nigeria and age-matched controls. Autonomic function tests utilised included heart rate variability to deep breathing, standing and the Valsalva manoeuvre and blood pressure response to standing. The found that autonomic dysfunction was common in Africans with PD, especially those over the age of 65. Among the patients with PD, 51.5% had abnormal parasympathetic function, which was significantly higher than controls, although many of these patients had no symptoms associated with it.

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The Impact Of Living With Parkinsons Disease: Balancing Within A Web Of Needs And Demands

Catharina Sjödahl Hammarlund

1The PRO-CARE Group, Faculty of Health Science, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad, Sweden

2Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

3The Research Platform for Collaboration for Health, Faculty of Health Science, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad, Sweden

Abstract

1. Introduction

Parkinsons disease is a progressive, neurological disease involving motor and nonmotor symptoms . Its symptom profile and progression differ between individuals. The core pathology believed to cause the main motor symptoms is a striatal dopamine deficit due to progressive loss of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons . Symptomatic dopaminergic therapy is initially successful, but a fluctuating drug response and dyskinesias often develop after some years. With the occurrence and progression of both motor and nonmotor symptoms, often in complex and fluctuating patterns , the disease is typically perceived as unpredictable and difficult to control .

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Participants and Recruitment

2.2. Data Collection

2.3. Data Analysis

3. Results

The impact of living with PD can be understood as Changed prerequisites for managing day-to-day demands, Loss of identity and dignity, Compromised social participation, and The use of practical and psychological strategies with internal variations seen as subcategories .

3.1. Changed Prerequisites for Managing Day-to-Day Demands

3.2. Loss of Identity and Dignity

4. Discussion

Effectively Navigating Life With Parkinson’s Disease

Navigating Life With Parkinson Disease helps you to “take your doctor with you” as you confront the challenges of living with Parkinsons.

For Tina, the tremor began in her left hand when she was only 48. Then her walking became slower. Several members of Tina’s family had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease , so she worried she might have it too. She was right.

Medication improved her movement somewhat, but the disease left her less able to multitask and solve problems efficiently. By the time she was 55, Tina had to leave her job and go on disability. The extra free time allowed her to return to painting, an activity she enjoyed. Her paintings started to sell. By the time Tina was 60, the drugs no longer worked as well, and she often felt tired. But paintingan activity she could enjoy despite the challenges of her diseasegave her life meaning.

Tina’s experience is covered in Navigating Life With Parkinson Disease, the latest addition to Neurology Now Books, produced by the American Academy of Neurology .

The book describes the causes, symptoms, treatments, and complications of PD and suggests ways to manage the condition. The information provides a valuable supplement to the guidance provided by neurologists, according to Editor-in-Chief Lisa Shulman, M.D., who has been named a Fellow of the AAN in recognition of her exemplary work in the neurosciences.

Three authors teamed up to write Navigating Life With Parkinson Disease:

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Treating The Symptoms Of Parkinsons Diseasehow Palliative Care Can Help

While there is no cure for Parkinsons disease, there are a growing number of treatments that can provide you with relief from its symptoms. People with Parkinsons disease are often prescribed a combination of levodopa and carbidopa, which helps replenish the brains shrinking supply of dopamine.

A new therapy uses electrodes surgically implanted inside the brain, and a small electrical device called a pulse generator to provide electrical deep brain stimulation . Parkinsons patients also benefit from the expertise of physical, occupational and speech therapists to help them manage practical issues in their daily lives.

Other symptoms of Parkinsons disease include a variety of motion-related issues, as well as sleep disturbances, fatigue , constipation and other gastrointestinal problems, and low blood pressure.

Another whole area of Parkinsons symptoms is called cognitive decline, whereby ravages of the disease affect thinking and other uses of the brain. These include troubling mood disorders like depression and anxiety, unclear thinking, difficulty concentrating on a task and the potential emergence of dementia.

Some people become more disabled and dependent over time despite the best treatments. They may come to need so much help with the routine tasks of living that they require 24-hour care. This care may be provided at home or in a setting like assisted living, where they get the personal care they need.

Driving And Parkinsons Disease

The ability to drive safely can be impaired by PD, as the disease has multiple effects on motor, cognitive , and visual functioning. However, giving up driving can be difficult, as driving is connected to an individuals sense of independence, personal control and self-reliance. Its important to evaluate how the symptoms of PD might be impairing the ability to drive. Drivers can also get an on-road assessment of their abilities at their local Department of Motor Vehicles.

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Challenges Of Parkinsons Disease For Patient And Caregiver

Original Published:

Mrs Balasubramaniam has been looking after her husband, 83, who has Parkinsons Disease, for more than a decade. She shares symptoms, treatments and caregiving tips.

When was your husband diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease?

My husband was diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease about 10 to 12 years back, but he probably had symptoms much before that were not very noticeable, such as mild abnormality of gait or sticking out his tongue occasionally.

What were the early symptoms?

We consulted a doctor when we noticed increasing unsteadiness in his gait. I noticed he would swerve to one side while walking his hands were a little wobbly while lifting objects. He would often stick out his tongue. His fine movements had deteriorated . Over the years, he found it difficult and then impossible to button his shirt, and his handwriting deteriorated.

Is there a history of Parkinsons Disease in your family?

What is his present condition?

He has also been mildly depressed. As regards cognition, there has been a deterioration over the last 5 years with particularly the last 2 years being more pronounced. There is mild confusion with incomplete understanding of what’s spoken to him. Part of this issue is also due to gradual hearing loss and partly due to cognitive ability going down.

Please describe your experience of managing Parkinsons Disease.

What medication is he on?

He is on Syndopa Plus and Syndopa CR, Pramipexole, and Quitiapin.

Community:

Understand The Disease And The Person With Parkinsons

• The incidence and severity of Parkinsons disease symptoms vary from day to day and even from one time of day to another. It takes skill and patience to know when to assist with a task and when to simply allow the person more time to do the task independently.
• It also takes time and ongoing education to learn the many symptoms of PD as well as the often-complicated medication regimens that offer the most symptom relief and improve quality of life.
• Caregivers must closely observe the person with Parkinsons over time to detect and respond helpfully to subtle changes in motor function and mood .
• Your loved one might not be aware of his or her changing abilities. Understanding of health risks may not have caught up to his or her actual level of risk and impairment.

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Studies Of Neurological Outpatient Consultations

Using retrospective records from the neurological consultations and data on the usage of L-dopa, Cosnett and Bill reviewed the presentation of black patients in Natal, South Africa and compared this to local Indian and white African populations. Over a 7-year period , 1,984 black patients were reviewed by a neurologist and only three cases of idiopathic PD were noted . PD diagnosis was based on âthe grounds of bradykinesia, rigidity, resting tremor and postural instabilityâ. Ten patients were felt to have a diagnosis of âsecondaryâ Parkinsonism, which the authors classify as being due to drugs, hypoxia, encephalitis or typhoid fever. Within the black population, 22.8% were over the age of 50, 9.4% over the age of 60 and 1.8% over the age of 70. In the same population of white patients attending neurological clinics, 47.8% of the population were over 50 years. The authors also looked at the frequency of L-dopa prescription. In the black population, there was approximately nine times less L-dopa prescribed than in the white populations. They propose that one reason so few cases were seen, was an early selective mortality in the black population. It was suggested that the elderly blacks were less likely to seek medical attention than other races. However, similar numbers of black and white patients with motor neurone disease were seen.